This past weekend I traveled out of province to Quebec to give a talk on Art Therapy to some of the students and faculty at Bishops University. I have to admit I was rather nervous speaking in front of the 50 or so people who came. Despite having practiced art therapy for the past 19 years I still felt uncertain about how I would be received or whether what I shared – a general overview of art therapy. – was enough or would be delivered with enough clarity.

The inner critic gremlins reared their heads.

Lets be clear. I’m not an academic. I’m a clinician, therapist, artist, healer however, academic researcher , no, not my thing.  Presenting to such s large group ( for me) was a bit nerve-wracking to say the least.

Nonetheless, I chose to do the talk. In order to make it easier on myself I relied a bit on my imagination, humor and preparation of course. I began my talk by announcing that for the remainder of the talk they were all children making it clear that this labeling had absolutely nothing to do with Art Therapy but simply was a tactic I was using to set myself at ease; I felt easier to talk with a group of children than adults (which in my perception was deemed more of a threat since there would be expectations to live up to).   At different parts of the talk when I felt my anxiety rise, I made comments about how they were the quietest group of children or the most well-behaved children I’ve met. They laughed and I felt more at ease.  This was my coping strategy.

In the end the talk was well received with  lots of enthusiastic questions.    I heard from students interested in studying art therapy, a student who had experienced art therapy  first hand as a child, art professors and psychologists who were curious and impressed by the diversity of art therapy.

I faced some fears this past weekend and feel better for it. I will do it again.  I probably will be a little nervous again, but  experience tells me that my fears are just thoughts or perceptions that can be  surpassed and ignored.

In the end seeing them as children became a metaphor for facing my fears.  Approaching the talk with child-like abandon allowed me to take a chance, see them as open-minded children listening to something for the first time. Each person who approached me afterwards confirmed that they had learned something new about Art Therapy, and I too learned the importance of trusting myself.  For that I am grateful.